Woman sues former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson for alleged rape in early 1990s

A woman alleging that former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson raped her in the back of a limousine in the early 1990s is suing him for $5 million.

The woman, whose name was not released, filed suit in Albany earlier this month under the Adult Survivors Act, which opened a one-year look-back window for civil suits in cases that otherwise would have expired under the state’s statute of limitations.

The attack happened after the two met at an Albany nightclub when she got into the boxer’s limo, the woman said in her affidavit. He immediately had his hands all over her and tried to kiss her, she said.

“I told him no several times and asked him to stop, but he continued to attack me,” the woman said. “He then pulled my pants off and violently raped me.”

Though the alleged assault happened decades ago, the woman has never fully recovered from the “physical, psychological and emotional injury” of the attack, she said. She said she’s maintaining anonymity because going public “would certainly pose a risk to me of further mental harm, harassment, ridicule or personal embarrassment.”

The woman’s attorneys looked into her allegations and found them “highly credible,” lawyer Darren Seilback said in a separate filing.

The early 1990s is also when beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington also accused Tyson of raping her in an Indianapolis hotel room. Indicted in September 1991, Tyson was convicted and served three years in prison, though he insists to this day that their encounter was consensual.

Now 56, the Brooklyn-born Tyson reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990. He did not comment on the current set of allegations.

Gov. Hochul signed the Adult Survivors Act into law in May of last year after state legislature approvals. It took effect on Thanksgiving amid predictions of a blizzard of lawsuits stemming from the newly opened window.

Several high-profile lawsuits have been filed since then, including E. Jean Carroll’s suit against former President Donald Trump, also for an alleged 1990s rape. Disgraced director James Toback is also facing lawsuits, with 38 women filing suit in December and hundreds of other women alleging he sexually harassed or assaulted them over the years.

With News Wire Services